I just took a new job. I moved from
pastoral ministry into Community Health Development at Loma Linda University
Health. I now work as their Liaison between faith communities and our
healthcare institutions. It's a great job, but the learning curve has been
steep.

Having worked now for about 9 months I
have gained a great deal, and I am embarrassed at both my earlier ignorance,
and astounded at the information that is out there in regards to population
health, personal health, and the healthcare industry. I'd like to talk about
those three.

Population Health.

Tim

It basically means the health of groups
of people. Different groups have different characteristics. The thing is, there
are some pretty specific social determinants of health. Things
such as education, economic status, environment, access to care, and even the
availability of healthy food, just to name a few. All of these things play into
what it is to make a healthy person, and a healthy population. For example, most
of us don't know the retail food index for our area (the percentage of healthy
food to unhealthy food retailers), and why would we? I had never
thought about it before my change in career. Likewise health means something
very different to each of us, not to mention what it means when you include
the affordability and access many do not have to healthcare.

In San Diego everyone seems healthy. And
truly, it is one of the United State's healthiest cities. Can the same be said
of where you live? What is the health status of your city? Look around, this
will begin to give you an idea. Individual health aggregated becomes population
health. If your city doesn't care about the health of it's citizens, even down
to things like the built environment (Walking paths, parks, access to health
food) then perhaps it is time you get politically active.

Personal Health.

This is on you. These are the choices
that you make everyday. And the truth is, it starts at the elbow! What you bend
toward your mouth makes a difference. A HUGE difference in how healthy you are.
Take the time to make a food log for a week. You might be startled at the
things you have put into your body. Does that latte really need to be whole
milk? Does that soda need to be present at every meal? Little changes add up to
large impacts on your caloric intake. And while this is probably a bit un-PC to
say, carrying too much weight usually leads to co-morbidities in your disease
cycle. Heart disease rarely happens alone. Type-2 diabetes is essentially
reversible. All these things can be changed with a change in diet. But don't
get me wrong; I don't think it's easy it hasn't been for me. However, watching
my 43-year-old friend have a serious heart attack has helped me realize the
need to continue on the right track.

Now, can you get healthy food? Can you
afford it? Do you know what to do with it once you get it? These are
appropriate questions, and they need to be answered. I love this blog and
newsletter in that it helps you decide what to do with all this great food you
are getting.

I am no physician, but I can tell you,
that the largest determinants of health will be your food intake and your
exercise level. It really is as simple as that. Change your diet, change your
life. Get off your couch, and you will live differently. There are many
millions of websites that can help you with this, and your healthcare provider frantically
wants you to get better as well. Which leads us to our next conversation. . .

Tim's Feet

HealthCare.

This is a scary word for many people.
And it probably should be. I work in health care and can't even pretend to
understand it. But there is a truism about healthcare that is important; it is
simply that hospitals want to get into the business of well care, rather than
sick-care. Don’t get me wrong, hospitals make money off of those who are sick,
but with the advent of the Affordable Care Act (this is not a political
statement, please don't take it as such, just a reality statement), hospitals
will not get the reimbursements the way that they had before, therefore, it is
in their best interest for you to be healthier. This is a good outcome. If
healthcare is now interested in preventative care, and the results of better
food and exercise environments, all of our lives are looking up! This is a 2.7
trillion dollar industry that is becoming interested in investing in community.
That bodes well for all of us.

Shalom (Peace) and Shalem (Health).

Timothy Gillespie, D. Min.

Faith Community and Health Liaison - Community Health Development - Loma Linda University Medical Center | Mission and Culture